Bloomers



lfjatented @et 2, W23..y

' istat? JOSE-PH TORCHEA, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

BLOOIVIERS.

Application led August 12, 1922.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known th-at I, JOSEPH TORCHIA, a citizen f the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bloomers, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bloomers for ladies and misses.

The object of my invention is to provide simple, efficient, 'convenientand economical means for opening and closing the back and crotch of agarment for the convenience of the wearer for the purpose of answeringthe calls of nature and for convenient access in attaching or removing asanitary menstrual napkin or for other purposes.

My invention consists in providing a central vertical opening, such as aslit or slot from the front of the crotch to near the back waist line ofthe garment and with lateral er extended openings at each side of thecrotch with a covering flap or panel attached at its upper end to nearthe rear top of the garment and adapted to extend over said openingbetween the legs and having me-ans for attaching its free end to thefront of the garment.

My invention also consists in the peculiar construction, combination andarrangement of parts as herein set forth and claimed.l

ln the drawings; y n y Fig. 1 is a front view of a bloomer embodying myinvention Fg. 2 is a rear view thereof Fig. 3 isa rear view'showing thefree end of theclosing flap detached and drawn to one side to show thesides of the opening held in closelproXimity bythe fastening tab;

Figff is a similar view showing'the fastening tab detached and the sidesof the opening drawn apart to more clearly illustrate the interiorconstruction;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental rear view of` the garment showing theconstruction of the crotch and other parts;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. l;

Fig. 7 is an inside view of the closing flap showing a sanitarymenstrual napkin secured thereon; f

8 is a front view of the bloomer showing the closing flap detached; and

Fig. 9 is a rear elevationshowing the covering fiap in dotted lines.

ln the' embodiment of my invention as il- Serial No. 581,337.

lustrated and which shows a preferred construction the bloomer 1" ispreferably provided with a waist band 2 having a longitudinalpassage-way 3 in which an elastic band e is inserted to form means forholding and supporting the garment in proper position upon the wearer.rl`he`waist band is preferably formed sufficiently large to permit thegoods to form gathers 5 when the elastic band is contracted or partlycontracted for the purpose of providing a wide range of adjustment todifferent sizes of persons. ,The rear sides 6 and 7 of the garment 4areseparated by a vertical opening 8 extending from thel waist band 2 tothe front of the crotch 9 and is provided with branch slotsv 10 and 11extending downwardly to the closing seams 12 and 13, respectively, ofthe legs 14: and 15, respectively. This peculiar construction of thebloomer at the crotch provides for a wide and free opening of thegarment in the rear and at the lower front extremity of the garment tofurnish a large opening for the user when seated without any binding ofthe garment across the legs or hips and without danger of tearing orripping the garment under said conditions. lt also proi vides forconvenient, free and unobstructed access of the hands to the perso-n.

Reinforcing patches 16 and 17 are preferably inserted and assist informing a strong/ base on which toy mount the fastener eyelets 18 and19. The front ofthe crotch 9 extends upwardly providing a short frontslot 20 adjacent branch slots 10 and .11 for the purpose of assisting inspreadingor eX- tending the opening and Iof gaining free vaccess to thepersonfrom the front.

A covering fla 21. `is attachedutol the rear sides `6 and and preferablyfefxt'ends over and around waist b-and 2 to,k which it is stitched, ,Itis also preferably stitched. to the rear sides 6 and 7 .from the waistband as shown `by stitches 22 to hold said the inner side of the freeend of flap l21 and are adapted to engage eyelets 18 and 19,respectively, to detachably hold said flap in closed pos1tion, 'butother suitable fasgio be used.

lidesired and when necessary a sanitary' menstrual napkin 25 may besuitably attached by safety pins 26, or otherwise, to the inner face ofclosing Hap 2.1 at the proper position thereon to perform 1ts usual'functions.

Tab 27 preferably detachably holds back rear sides 6 and 7' 1n closerelation to each other as shown in Figs. 3 and 92 The closing ap orpanel may be made of rubberized cloth or other'equivalent material forthe purpose of preventing staining the outer garmentsl due to menstrualflow and the like in which case the panel may be readily washed withoutwashing the garment. Heretofore bloomers have been made without anyconvenient and accessible rear and bottom opening and when the userdesired to gain access to the nether or prlvate organs or toperform thecalls of nature 1t was necessary to shift the garment down from thewaist upon the legs below said nether organs, thus making it necessaryto lift` up the outer garments inconveniently high for such purpose andentailingl much inconvenience in the adjustment of t e garments to openor closed position.

Bloomers have also been made with a dro seat or lap secured at itsupperyend by uttons at each side at the waist line but such arrangementis very inconvenient and also requires lifting the outer garmentsinconveniently high to gain access and the buttons must be attached ordetached at the back or side at great inconvenience to the user.Furthermore, when the user is seated with such latter type of bloomerthe adjacent edge of the Hap and body of the bloomer will spread and apthereby exposing the person to the weat er and if no other garment isbeing worn would expose the person at that time.

With such type of bloomer also it is ini-- possible to provide anadequate opening for vconvenience and ease of the -user while seatedupon a toilet as the sides of the garment will bind upon the hips andthe drop flap will be in the way of the user. Myk

bloomer is preferabl provided with a completely closed flexib e waistband the same as in ordinary bloomers and thereby insures holding thebloomer in position on the wearer, whereas if either button of the dropflap type of bloomer becomes loose or unbuttoned the bloomer is free todrop down upon the floor with possible embarrassment to the wearer.

An important advantage of m bloomer is that it enables the user free anconvenient aeeaaav access for the purpose of applying or removing asanitary menstrual napkin which may be conveniently attached at each endto the inside closing flap of the bloomer so that it may be convenientlymoved out of the way with the iiap Without detachingl it therefrom atsuch times as required or desired.

My invention is particularly convenient for use in opening and closingthe opening 8 since the free end of the closing flap 21 is detachablyconnected to the lower front part of the garment at a point ofconvenient access tol the hands of the user without the necessity oflifting the outer garments or reaching up to the top and rear part ofthe bloomer to obtaint'he desired result of opening it, or of shiftingit down over the person from the rear which is frequently required.While l have illustrated my invention as applied to a bloomer having aclosed iiexible retaining Waist band it will be understood that it mayalso be applied to modified constructions such as a non-flexibleseparable band having its ends detachably connected by buttons orotherwise, and while ll have shown a particular construction andarrangement of my invention it will also be understood that it iscapable of modification without departure from its scope or spirit asdefined in the claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. lln a bloomer having a rear central opening extending fromsubstantially at the waist-'band to the front of the crotch, a closinflap attached at the rear of the bloomer su stantially at the waistbandof the bloomer and adapted to extend over said opening and crotch toclose the opening, and to be detachably connected to the front of thebloomer.

2. In a bloomer having a rear opening extending downwardly through thecrotch and having a fastening means on one side thereof, a tab securedto one side of said opening and adapted to be attached across saidopening to said first named fastening means, and a flap adapted to coversaid opening and permanently attached to the bloomer at the upper rearend of said opening and detachably connected to thel bloomer at itsfront.

3. In a bloomer having a completely closed waist-band and having a rearcentral opening extending substantially from said waist-band to thefront of the crotch, a clos- A ing flap attached substantially at thewaistband of the bloomer and adapted to extend over said opening andcrotch to close the opening, and means to detachably connect saidclosing Hap to the front of the bloomer.

Josera Toscana.

